


what we see

by purplebullet



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M, Gen, MaKorra, PG-13, could be seen as friendship as well as love, vague mentioning of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-05
Updated: 2012-05-05
Packaged: 2017-11-04 21:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebullet/pseuds/purplebullet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first and the last time Mako saw Korra are quite different from each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what we see

**Author's Note:**

> My very first TLoK fanfic so be gentle! :)

The first time he sees her, he's annoyed. His brother's managed to sneak in another one of his fans (who is probably a bigger fan of Mako himself than Bolin) and like all the previous ones she's incapable of taking her eyes off the field. Of course a common fan like her has never seen it from this point of view before, which is impressive the first few times, but Mako's grown so used to it he nearly finds the sight boring. (He remembers actually telling this to one of Bolin's fans, and after a discussion that nearly got the team disqualified for not having all members on the field he's learned his lesson: no more bickering with crowd members.)

While Mako is putting on the last bits of his outfit he's forced to listen to the conversation his brother is having with the present girl. It always goes the same; same words, same intonation, same awed expression that Mako can imagine fully detailed. It's incredibly tedious, and he's getting tired of it. It's become a habit of him to tell his brother not to bring along fans anymore when he enters the balcony, which is, in retrospect, quite pathetic.

And then all of a sudden his view of the girl in question changes, because she's a waterbender, and a firebender, _and_ an earthbender. And Mako hangs his head in defeat, or shame perhaps, and feels like kicking himself a thousand times for his idiocy. He turns around to share his findings with her, which she agrees with wholeheartedly with a faint sort of smile on her face.

This is actually the first time he sees her, and, after fangirl number twenty-three, the first time he properly sees a girl his brother brought along. It's strange how the unpleasant feeling in his stomach is missing.

–

The last time he sees her, he's scared. They've been fighting Amon and his dangerous and wide circle of 'friends' for a while, and now it's time to split up. Korra doesn't look too comfortable having to leave Mako and Bolin behind with this large group of men that look like they can rip these two boys apart, and while Mako is fairly certain that's exactly what they'll do, he refuses to show her any of these thoughts. This is one of the rare times the lack of emotion on his face comes in handy.

"Go," he tells her for the second time, and that's the last he says to her. Korra's frown deepens a fraction and she scans the men once more before a look of reluctance starts to settle on her face. She nods.

"I'll be back."

There is a spark in Mako that makes him realize this may be the last thing he'll ever hear her say, and it strikes him that he doesn't want that to be true. From their first meeting until now there's so much that has happened between them, both good and bad things (bad things first, good later on), and there is so much more _left_ to happen between them. He wants _that_ to be true, so he takes his strongest, most impressive pose and turns to the men eagerly waiting to devour him and his brother as Korra starts running off.

"Hey!"

Mako tenses in surprise. Together with Bolin he turns his head to the left, where Korra's stopped in her tracks. Her hands are in her sides and she looks more courageous than she probably feels, but the view helps anyway. Mental support is also important in cases like these.

"Don't get your butts kicked."

Mako nearly smiles. He doesn't know why, since he feels like crying, or hiding, or just _not_ being here, at this place, in this situation. He nods at Korra.

"Tch," Bolin lets out beside him, "Speak for yourself, Avatar."

Korra almost looks happy when she grins at the both of them. It's a sad sight, really, but Mako keeps his comments to himself. This isn't the time or place. It might be the last thing he'll ever see, ever know, and he doesn't want to ruin it with anything... sarcastic. (Apparently that's what he is – a sarcasm guy with 'no sense of humor whatsoever'. Korra's words. A long time ago. If he remembers correctly she changed into 'a sarcasm guy with a sense of humor after all'.)

And then she's gone. Running off to fulfill her destiny, what she's been working towards all this time, and that without Mako. It's nearly heart-breaking, but he pushes the feeling to the back of his mind and readies for the upcoming fight once more. The men look even more eager to destroy them. An unpleasant thought, especially since there's about twenty of them. Maybe thirty.

"Twenty-six," Bolin says quietly – a habit he picked up so he could tell his fans later on how many people he defeated by himself. For once it's not annoying. "We can make it, easily."

Mako straightens his back. His fingertips are starting to heat up, ready for action.

"Right?"

He chances a glance at his brother. He only asks for confirmation when he isn't confident. He's right not to be.

"Of course," Mako answers, voice steady and conveying just what Bolin needs to hear. They dive into the fight head-on, with no second thoughts.

–

The first time Mako saw Korra she was wearing a mock-smile.

The last time Mako saw Korra all he saw was her back.


End file.
